


In the Spotlight

by blueandblack



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-11 21:06:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13532553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueandblack/pseuds/blueandblack
Summary: Gladio picks up a second job. It's easy and it's lucrative, and it turns out that Ignis is a fan.





	1. Prologue

Ignis slid his hand down, palming his hard cock. He sighed, giving himself a few tugs as he looked at the spread in the magazine. The man’s face was obscured by shadows, but his body with all its hard lines and smooth skin was front and center. With his free hand, Ignis placed a finger on one nipple, then dragged his finger down the planes of the body, across the chest and down to the hips. He hesitated a moment before tracing the length of the dick. Long, thick and nestled among thick, dark hair, Ignis wished he could taste it. A groan escaped his throat and he stroked his cock with more speed. His eyes fluttered close as he imagined the man from the magazine - Ifrit according to the credits -touching him instead, with his large, strong hands, squeezing his bum before teasing his hole. His hand moved even quicker and he flopped onto his back. Chest heaving and hips bucking, it wasn’t long before Ignis was coming, his spine arching off the bed. 

“Gladio,” he breathed.

And like always, as he came down from the high, embarrassment filled him. After cleaning himself up, he closed the magazine and shoved it in the bottom drawer of his night stand. He should really throw it away. An impulse buy when he was picking up some supplies for Noct, Ignis had become obsessed with the Ifrit the model. He’d done some research but found nothing. Then, he’d quickly deleted his internet history. 

His alarm rang signaling that his 15 minutes break was up.

Time to review his notes for his tutorial tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

The girl at the front counter couldn't be much older than Iris, although she'd made some effort to hide that with a thick layer of makeup. Her eyes widened as he approached, then she actually, honest to god, licked her lips. He tugged his cap, pulling it lower over his eyes. It didn’t stop her looking.  
  
She made a big show of examining him before finally leaning forward and displaying an eyeful of cleavage.   
  
“Name, gorgeous?”  
  
He almost gave his real name. Then realised that in the hours that it took for him to get to this godforsaken corner of the city, he really should have done less panicking and more thinking up of fake names. “Uh Ifrit.”  
  
One eyebrow lifted. “Like the Astral, Ifrit?”   
  
Heat burned his cheeks but he kept his gaze steady on her and gave her curt nod. Often, that was enough to make people feel uncomfortable, but she merely threw him an amused look, then scrawled the word Ifrit onto a form, then slid it across the table to him.  
  
“Fill it in and the waiting room is behind.” She winked. “Competition is tough but I think you have a good chance.”  
  
“Right,” he muttered as he grabbed the form. “Thanks.”  
  
The waiting room was, well, a room. Graffiti emblazoned the walls and a few plastic chairs were strewn around. Amongst the graffiti were a few tattered posters of men in various states of undress. It smelled like a mix between the gym at the Citadel after Gladio had put in a full day of training and a pub. Professional, the room was not. But what did one expect from a five line ad buried in the classified section of the local tabloid? Two other men were in the room, slouched in those plastic chairs. They looked up as he entered, gave cursory nods before going back to their phones to avoid anymore awkwardness. For a moment, Gladio studied them and wondered how he stacked up. Not too badly, he decided. The blonde one was prettier, his lips full and pouty. At another time, in another place, Gladio could have been persuaded to chat him up. His pants vibrated and Gladio pulled out his phone, thankful for the distraction. Then he realised that it was a flurry of messages between Noct and Ignis in their group chat, and Gladio was in no mood to drop himself into whatever was going on. As time passed and nothing happened, he started to feel the walls closing in on him. Nerves slowly crept up his spine and he closed his eyes and made himself think of Iris, remembering how her eyes had lit up at the sight of the jeweled dagger they had seen at an arms shop a few days ago, a dagger that cost as much as a year of stipends.   
  
“Amare.”   
  
So that was the name of the blonde guy. Gladio tucked the knowledge aside. One never knew when it might come in useful. He watched as the Amare jumped from his chair and walked into the room, giving Gladio a nice view of his ass. It was a good ass, thought Gladio. One he wouldn’t mind getting more acquainted with.   
  
“You new?”  
  
“Yeah,” said Gladio, dragging his attention to the other, skinnier man. “You?”  
  
“Nah. It’s good money. I’ve done it a few times.”  
  
Gladio nodded.   
  
“It’s a bit strange the first time. All that nudity and posing but you’ll get used to it.” The man looked down at his phone again, signalling that their brief conversation was over.  
  
Nudity. Gladio rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn’t a prude and he had known that he would have to be naked. Still. He sighed. He could do this. Just a few photos and he would have a few thousand dollars, enough to buy the dagger in time for Iris’s birthday. Although now that he was thinking about it, giving Iris a dagger would only encourage her to pester him into giving her more combat training. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Iris would like a stuffed toy, surely. And he could easily afford a stuffed toy.   
  
He stood, wiping his hands down his jeans-clad thighs. Then sat down again, earning a curious look from the skinny man. He could, of course, buy Iris a stuffed toy and she would throw her tiny arms around him and thank him. But after this year, he couldn’t help but feel that Iris deserved something better. Once again, that familiar feeling of guilt rose in him. He hadn’t been able to do much for her but he could at least do this. How hard could it be?  
  
“Ifrit?”  
  
Gladio jerked upright.  
  
“That you?” A tall lady stood in the doorway, a clipboard in her hands. Her disapproving eyes travelled across his body, before returning to his face. “Take off your cap and let’s go. I don’t have all day.”  
  
She made a sharp turn and marched into the room. Rising, cap in his hand, Gladio followed her. Her hips swayed as she walked, drawing his eyes and he smirked. Perhaps she was a model too, for a different audience. Possibly a more upmarket audience.   
  
She waved at where there was a backdrop of a beach. Obediently, Gladio moved to stand in front of it. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach. Even going up against his father in training didn’t hold a candle to this. What did he do with his arms? He placed them on his hips, then thought that felt a little aggressive, so he let them dangle by his side.  
  
“Don’t suppose you have a portfolio,” she said, boredom lacing her voice.  
  
“Nope. Never done this before.”  
  
Her eyebrows arched but that was her only reaction to his words.   
  
“Fine. We’ll do some test shots and then the powers that be will decide if you make the cut. Now where is that damn photographer?”  
  
Hands on her hips, she frowned as she looked around the small room. He followed her eyes. Aside from the lights and the backdrop, there was also a table with cameras and lenses strewn across. But no photographer.   
  
There was the sound of a flushing toilet, then the door in the corner of the room swung open.   
  
“Sorry. I just needed to -”  
  
“Fuck.” Inside, he swore a few more times as the anxiety in him exponentially grew.   
  
“Gladio?”  
  
The woman looked at him. “Gladio?”  
  
Gladio weighed his options. He could pretend he wasn’t Gladio or he could kill Prompto.   
  
“Uh yeah.” Prompto picked up a camera and started fiddling with it. His neck and face turned bright red. “Uh - shall we get started?”  
  
“You know him, Prompto?” The woman dropped her clipboard onto the table.   
  
Now Gladio knew what to do with his arms. Strangle Prompto since he didn’t have his sword with him. He couldn’t decide if that awful churning in his stomach was from nerves or annoyance. Probably both because Gladio was pretty sure Prompto couldn’t keep a secret to save his life.  
  
Prompto kicked the table, then yelped. Something rolled off it and he bent down to pick it up. “No. Uh I met him once at a bar. Yeah. Don’t really know him.”  
  
The words tumbled from Prompto’s mouth, falling over each other and he avoided looking at Gladio. So they were going to pretend to be sort-of strangers. That suited Gladio just fine. Now, if only Prompto hadn’t made it seem like they had had a regrettable one night stand. No one regretted a one night stand with Gladio. In fact, repeat performances were often requested.  
  
“Great.” The woman’s clipped tone brought them both to attention. She leaned against the wall and eyed the two of them. “Now that we’re done reminiscing, can we get a move on? My shift ends soon, and I don’t work when I’m not paid.”  
  
“Yeah, of course. Shall we? If you stand in the middle so I can adjust the lights.” Prompto finally made eye contact with Gladio, but quickly broke it to focus on the lights. Now and then, he chirped out instructions that sounded more like hesitant suggestions, asking Gladio to move a bit to the left, then back a little, to turn a bit and so on, all of which Gladio did, feeling more and more like this was a horribly bad idea as time went on. The strong lights hurt his eyes, he still had no clue what to do with his arms and how any good photos were going to be taken if Prompto kept refusing to look at him. Gladio shifted his arms again, crossing them in front of him. If Prompto took any longer, he was going to run out of places to put his hands.   
  
Something clattered to the ground and Prompto was as red as a tomato again. He bent down and started to talk. “Uh, you need to - um - have less clothes on.”  
  
Gladio blinked.  
  
“Clothes.”  
  
The woman sighed. “He means take off your shirt.”  
  
“Now?”  
  
“Yes, now.” Her exasperation clear, she narrowed her eyes at him. “You do know what this job is? You will probably have to shed more than your shirt.”  
  
Gladio flashed her a wide grin and reached down to grab the edge of his t-shirt. “No problem.”  
  
In a single movement, he pulled his top off and tossed it away. He stretched a little and rubbed his neck.   
  
“Nice,” said the woman. “Probably have to oil him a little. Take some shots and we’ll see how they turn out.”  
  
Prompto was still flushed and Gladio rolled his eyes.   
  
“Let’s start with a simple pose,” said Prompto. “Look into the camera, lean forward a bit.”  
  
“No identifying head shots,” said Gladio. “That’s what the ad said.”  
  
The woman pushed herself from the wall. “No facial shots. But the back of head is fair game.”  
  
“Right.”  
  
A flash went off and Gladio started to worry about his arms again.   
  
+  
  
“Tell anyone about this and I will kill you, Prompto.”  
  
“Damn! You nearly killed me, jumping out of the shadows like that.”  
  
Gladio released his hold on Prompto’s arm. “What took you so long to come out? It’s freezing here.”  
  
“Aranea insisted I had to clean up.” He shrugged and pulled his beanie on, then stuffed his hands into his pockets. “She’s really pushy sometimes. Plus it’s kinda part of my duties. Anyway, don’t worry. It’s not like I want you telling people about what I’m doing either.”  
  
“Noct doesn’t know?”  
  
Prompto stared at him with wide eyes. “No, of course Noct doesn’t know and you’re not going to tell him!”  
  
“Fine. You keep my secret and I’ll keep yours.”  
  
“Why are you doing this?”  
  
Gladio stopped walking. “Why are you?”  
  
“I just - well it gives me experience and I get to build a portfolio. Sort of.” He shrugged. “I just need to break into the industry and well, it’s not easy.”  
  
“I need the money,” said Gladio. “C’mon. I’ll give you a lift back.”  
  
Prompto frowned. “You could just ask Noct. He’s got so much of it, he doesn’t know what to do with it.”  
  
“Do you ask Noct for money?”  
  
A flush coloured Prompto’s pale skin. “Of course not - what do you think -”  
  
A wave of Gladio’s hand was enough to shush him. “Exactly. I’m not asking Noct for money.”  
  
“You know,” said Prompto as he slid into Gladio’s car, “this is pretty great. You and me. We can get to know each other better.”  
  
The engine roared to life. Gladio didn’t need to look at Prompto to know that he was grinning. “We spend plenty of time together.”  
  
“Yeah, but it’s always with Noct and Ignis. Now we can spend some quality time together -”  
  
“As you take photos of me mostly naked,” said Gladio dryly. “I suppose that is one way to get to know me better. Anyway who knows if I’ll make the cut?”  
  
Prompto patted his arm. “Of course you will! Look at your body - the readership will love you.”  
  
Gladio grunted and changed the subject, recalling the last time Prompto discussed his body with him. “Where are you off to? Noct’s place?”  
  
“Uh yeah. He wants to finish level 33 of Zombie Apocalypse. We’ve been trying to clear it since last week. Wanna join us? I think Noct’s getting pizza.”  
  
It was tempting. Hot pizza with all the works, because Noct always ordered all the works, some time on the video console and time with his friends. Plus Ignis would probably be there and well and Gladio hadn’t seen him in a while. Then, he remembered the training plans he’d promised his father he would have ready by the next day.   
  
“Can’t. I have stuff to do back in the citadel.”  
  
“More training? Don’t let your muscles get too big. Some of the guys I’ve photographed had necks thicker than their thighs and let me tell you that that is really scary. Proportion is the secret. Right now, I think your -”  
  
“Prompto, I’m sure you’re a great photographer with a great eye, whatever that means but I don’t need your analysis of my body.”  
  
He grinned. “I consider myself a bit of an expert on the male body. I’ve seen quite a number of them. If you need advice, you know who to turn to.”  
  
Snorting, Gladio turned up the radio.  
  
+  
  
Iris was explaining patiently to Gladio how she’d managed to somehow adopt a stray cat on her way home from school. Said cat was definitely not making his case very well as he sunk his claws into Gladio’s thigh.   
  
“We can’t keep a cat, Iris. Who is going to look after him?”  
  
“I will!” A pout formed and she blinked a few times.  
  
Gently extracting the claws from his thigh, Gladio lifted the cat up to eye level. He was pretty sure the cat scowled at him. “Iris -”  
  
“It’s lonely without mum. Shadow can keep me company when you and dad are away.”  
  
Guilt squeezed his heart. “You’ve named him?”  
  
Obviously sensing a crack in the armour, Iris widened her eyes and nodded. “I did. Please Gladdy! I’ll take care of it so well! And when I’m alone at home after school, Shadow can hang out with me. We’ll be best friends.”  
  
Gladio was a man who rarely tasted defeat but he knew when he was about to. Shadow swiped at him, hissing. He plopped the cat onto Iris’s lap and shook his head when it leapt off her. “Fine. Make sure you look after him.”  
  
The bright smile on Iris’s face was enough to fill Gladio with warmth. When she flung her arms around him and pressed a kiss on his cheek, he held her close, enjoying the tickle of her hair and the clean scent of her shampoo. He tightened his hold on her, wishing there was some way to protect her from the world.   
  
Claws sunk into his feet.  
  
Pulling back, Gladio smiled, bent down and picked Shadow up. “And keep him away from me.”  
  
Just as Iris and Shadow disappeared from the room, his phone chirped.   
  
_Yes! See you tomorrow!_   
  
Prompto. Gladio frowned, wondering what plans he’d agreed to. As far as he knew, it was a usual day of training and school.   
  
_Oh and can I get a lift?_  
  
 _A lift?_  
  
 _I hope you like animals!_  
  
What the heck was happening? He was about to ask Prompto when his phone rang and as Aranea started to speak, everything made sense.   
  
Gladio Amicitia, shield for the crown prince and now, model for The Wall Magazine. He scoffed, pushing down the weird sense of pride he was feeling, and typed a quick reply to Prompto.  
  
+  
  
The Chocobo nuzzled Gladio’s neck, its hot, stinky breath tickling his nose. He tried not breathing but he could only do that for so long. Plus, the Chocobo’s feathers tickled his bare skin and he was already using most of his self-control to stop himself from laughing.   
  
“Dip your head into the feathers, and hug it tighter. You’re standing too far away from the Chocobo.”  
  
“I’m as close as I want to get,” bit out Gladio. Still, he shuffled closer. “Why am I posing with Chocobos?”  
  
Aranea said something to Prompto who nodded. “Hey big guy, you need to look more in lust with the Chocobo. Try hugging it!”  
  
“No faces!” Gladio reached out and placed a tentative hand on the Chocobo,which squawked in response.  
  
“Don’t hurt it!” yelled Prompto.  
  
“You told me to hug it!”  
  
Gladio shrugged on his shirt, then pocketed the money from Aranea who looked faintly amused. “The photos look promising. It’s a recent trend. Men with animals.”  
  
He lifted an eyebrow. “Men with animals?”  
  
“Who knows what gets people going. Our last spread with men with cat ears was a huge hit. Sales went up over 20%.” Aranea smiled. “I just do what our audience wants.”  
  
“Well, thanks for the money. And the experience, I guess.” He looked over at Prompto. “I’m heading back, Prompto. You coming?”  
  
Prompto’s attention was still on his camera. He waved a hand. “Nah. I think I’m going to take some shots of the scenery.”  
  
The magazine came out a month later with a center spread of Gladio’s naked body stretched across, his face in the shadows, leaning against a Chocobo.  
  
It was ridiculous. He twirled the jeweled dagger and smiled. It was also lucrative. Thankfully, it was only a one time thing.  
  



	3. Chapter 3

He was having dinner with Cor and a few other Crownsguards when his phone buzzed. Seeing Prompto's name on his lock screen should have been warning enough, but he'd had some good food in him and was in a particularly pleasant mood since he'd finally managed to defeat Cor in training. Laughing at a crude joke one of the Crownsguards made, Gladio fished out his phone and looked at Prompto's message.  
  
"Nice ass," snickered Miles.  
  
That was enough to get the rest of them leaning towards Gladio, jostling to look at his phone. With a growl, he turned off the screen of his phone and slid it into his pocket.  
  
"Who's sending you pictures of their bum?" "Need help taking photos of your ass, Gladio?"  
  
"Jealous no one is sending you such photos?" asked Gladio. He reached for his drink and took a gulp. What was Prompto thinking? He hoped fervently that it wasn't a photo of Prompto's butt because he did not need that in his life.  
  
Cor lifted an eyebrow. "Didn't realise you were in a relationship."  
  
"Don't have to be in one. Just have to be attractive enough. Unfortunately, the lot of you are going to need help in that area."  
  
That immediately started a round of who was the most attractive man, a discussion Gladio was content to merely observe as he sipped at his soda.  
  
By the time Varilius was three quarters the way through to being completely smashed, Cor called an end to the evening with a curt reminder that he expected everyone to be ready and early for training the next day. Gladio bundled Varilius into a car with Miles, then decided against getting in himself. The walk to his apartment was not too long and along the way, as the cool night wrapped itself around him, he took out his phone. There was a new message from Ignis reminding him that Noct’s training needed to be cut short the next day because of some meeting, then his thumb scrolled to Prompto’s message.  
  
_A is asking if you want to do a more traditional shoot. Something like these._  
  
Prompto had sent him far too many photos of naked men, sprawled across beds and Garula skin rugs, their backs, chests, butts and cocks all on proud display. He ogled, but just a little.  
  
_It was a one time thing._  
  
It wasn’t as if the previous photo shoot had been bad. Not really. Well, the chocobos did smell rather rank and the smell had clung to his skin for a while. And as he was scrubbing off the smell in the shower, he noticed some scratches from their talons. But it had netted him a tidy sum and brought the brightest smile to Iris’s face so Gladio counted it as a positive overall. Still, he saw no need to repeat the experiment.  
  
_Please? Pretty please?_  
  
Gladio frowned.  
  
“Gladio!”  
  
Delight surged through Gladio’s veins and he quickly typed a no to Prompto, then pocketed his phone. Unable to help the grin on his face, he turned to watch as Ignis walked towards him. Lean and graceful, Gladio let his eyes linger on Ignis’s gait, enjoying the way his hips moved.  
  
“Hey, Ignis. Thought you’d be working.”  
  
“I was scheduled to but Noct decided that a sleepover with Prompto would be more entertaining. It was a lovely evening so I thought I would take a walk home.”  
  
Gladio laughed. “Well, I can’t believe he turned down an evening going through policy papers with you. You’re such amazing company.”  
  
Ignis returned the smile with a roll of his eyes. “I could hardly believe it either. Would you turn down the pleasure of my company?”  
  
“Never,” said Gladio. “Speaking of your company, I haven’t had the privilege of having it the past few weeks. Are they working you too hard in the Citadel?”  
  
Ignis fell into step with him, their hands brushing as they walked towards the apartment building where most of the staff lived, if they didn’t live in the Citadel. It was in the wrong direction of Gladio’s place but he was happy to take the detour.  
  
“Ah, I’ve been busy with exams - both mine and Noct’s. He’s not exactly the studious type. It is a good thing that he’s smart.”  
  
“You -”  
  
“- do too much for him. I know, Gladio. But his success is my responsibility.”  
  
Gladio sighed but didn’t push. He’d missed his friend and didn’t want to start another quarrel with him. “Have you had dinner? We could go to that ramen place.”  
  
“That sounds great. It would save me the trouble of cooking dinner for one.” said Ignis. “But surely you have eaten.”  
  
Gladio draped an arm across Ignis’s shoulders. “Unlike Noct, I would love the pleasure of your company.”  
  
Still full from dinner, Gladio ordered some tea and a small plate of dumplings. When Ignis started to critique the ramen bowl he’d ordered, Gladio leaned back and simply enjoyed the passion oozing from Ignis’s words. It was a privilege, Gladio thought, to be able to see this side of Ignis, the side that was not so tightly controlled and calculated. Idly, he wondered if Ignis was reserved in bed as well. Or would lust make him lose all control? His eyes moved to Ignis’s mouth just as he slurped up some ramen. Desire unfurled in Gladio’s stomach and he shifted slightly to ease the growing discomfort in his jeans.  
  
“Gladio?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Which woman are you dreaming about now? Whatever happened to Delia?”  
  
“You’re up to date with everything except the Citadel gossip,” laughed Gladio. “Delia was sweet but she wasn’t the right one.”  
  
Ignis shrugged. “Have you finalised the design of your tattoo?”  
  
“Yeah, not really. Dad really wants me to have the same one as his - says it’s a classic but I’m not ready to be his carbon copy. But you know how stubborn my dad is.”  
  
“I also know how stubborn you are.”  
  
“Unfortunately, Dad won’t give me the money for the tattoo unless he approves of it.”  
  
Ignis laughed. “Frankly, I can’t imagine what liberties can be taken with a tattoo of a large bird. Unless you’re planning some sort of female-bird hybrid, her naked body curled around yours.”  
  
“And this female-bird hybrid would have the head of a bird then?” Gladio tried very hard not to laugh at the image in his head. “I think, Iggy, that you should stick to policy papers and leave the creative stuff to others.”  
  
Amusement danced in Ignis’s eyes. “You’re missing out on a great opportunity here.”  
  
Gladio grinned again. He did that often around Ignis. “Tell me how you feel about the dumplings.”  
  
A few hours later, Gladio tossed his jacket onto the sofa in his living room, then immediately picked it up to hang it on a hook. No reason to give Jared more work. He was just about to go to his bedroom when Iris came barreling out of hers into him. Her arms wrapped around his legs and he picked her up. Something else brushed against his legs and he looked down to see Shadow. He nudged him away gently, thankful when Shadow simply walked off.  
  
“Hey Iris. Thought you would be asleep by now.”  
  
“Was waiting for you Gladdy!”  
  
Reaching out, he ruffled her hair, earning himself a squeal. She squirmed and he let her down.  
  
“It’s kinda late. Why were you waiting for me?”  
  
“I can do a cartwheel! I wanna show you.”  
  
“Are you sure you can? I don't know. You're still tiny -”  
  
On cue, Iris stamped her foot and pouted, and laughter bubbled out of Gladio.  
  
“Go on then.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “I'm not catching you if you fall though.”  
  
Iris stuck her tongue out at Gladio before getting into position. “Watch!”  
  
The cartwheel was clumsily executed, but an improvement of what she'd showed him a week ago. Clearly she'd been practising. Pride filled him as he clapped his hands.  
  
“Nice job.”  
  
“Well? Will you teach me to fight with weapons now?” She bounced on her toes, eager anticipation shining from her eyes. “I want to use that dagger you bought me!”  
  
Gladio made a show of being deep in thought.  
  
“Please, please, please, please, please.”  
  
He picked her up with one arm. “I suppose we can get started on some basics.”  
  
“You’re the best brother, Gladdy!” Her small hand cupped his cheeks and she pressed a kiss on his nose.  
  
“Yeah,” huffed Gladio as he shifted her weight so that it was more comfortable to carry her. “I’m your only brother. C’mon. I’ll tuck you in bed.”  
  
“Read me a book?”  
  
He growled playfully at her. “I just agreed to teach you to use daggers. I think that’s enough for today. Plus, aren’t you a bit old for this?”  
  
“But I waited for you.”  
  
It was on the tip of Gladio’s tongue to point out that the only reason she was waiting for him was because she wanted something from him, but he made the mistake of looking down into her face. Iris was no where as innocent as the face she was making yet he caved and agreed to a short story. She fell asleep about 10 minutes into his story, her arms curled around Shadow which had spent the last 10 minutes glaring at him. He dropped a kiss on her forehead, making sure not to touch the cat, then made his way to his own bedroom.  
  
Flopping onto his bed, he checked his phone.  
  
_Hey, I didn’t mean to push. Don’t be mad, yeah?_  
  
_It’s fine if you don’t want to do this but your shoot was really popular. Like almost breaking Johnno’s record popular._  
  
_Anyway I know you said that this was a one time thing but you know, think about it?_  
  
_Right, gonna stop bothering you now._  
  
_Hope you’re not mad._  
  
_Good night!_  
  
It was tempting to mess with Prompto by ignoring his messages. Prompto would see that Gladio had read them and not replied, which knowing him, would send his imagination into overdrive. That would probably mean Gladio waking up to a hundred messages, each more grovelling than the last, each making him feel more guilty as well. Guess he wasn’t going to mess with Prompto. Also, the fact that he apparently fell short of Johnno bugged him a little.  
  
_Wtf is Johnno? Tell whatshername to increase my fee and I’ll think about it._  
  
There, thought Gladio. He was quite the businessman, negotiating like that. Ignis would be proud, not that he would be sharing this with Ignis. Sometimes a man had to have his secrets.  
  
_Will do! Gonna send some photos of Johnno to you._  
  
_Fuck no. Stop sending me porn._  
  
_Bit hypocritical of you, no?_  
  
Gladio sent Prompto a rude emoji, tossed the phone aside, snuggled into his pillow and then promptly fell asleep.  


 

* * *

  
  
He had less than half an hour which was really cutting it close, especially when he liked to be early for things. Damn Miles demanding a last-minute bout with him. It wasn’t like Gladio could tell him that he couldn’t because he had to go pose naked, so he’d agreed then tried to lose the bout in hopes that it would end quickly. Turned out that either Miles was a really crap Crownsguard or Gladio was shit at losing. So he trashed Miles, brushed him off as he whined about a rematch, showered and was now speeding down the roads towards the address that Prompto had texted him that morning.  
  
Following the directions on his phone, he turned into an industrial area, driving past several large, boxy buildings. He supposed that instead of a rundown apartment, Aranea and company had progressed to derelict warehouses. Clearly this job was going to make him rich. A rueful smile on his face, Gladio listened to the lilting voice from his phone and turned his car down an even darker road.  
  
“Having acceded to your demands for a higher fee, I’d hoped that you could show some measure of professionalism by turning up on time.”  
  
Aranea leaned against the entrance to the warehouse, arms crossed and a very pissed look on her face. Gladio picked charm over grovelling and plastered one of his best smiles on his face as he got out of his car.  
  
“Hello Aranea. Lovely to see you again. You look gorgeous.”  
  
“Save it for someone who cares, hot shot. Blondie is being paid by the hour so this better not be some sort of scam. Let’s go.”  
  
Gladio followed her into the warehouse, eyebrows rising as he saw that it’d been decorated like some garage. A large work bench dominated the room with various power tools scattered on it. Prompto was already snapping shots with his camera, squatting at one corner one moment, before darting to another part. Shrugging off his jacket, he turned to Aranea.  
  
“Men and their toys?”  
  
“Something like that. Since we upped your fee, you’re going to do something a little more risqué.”  
  
“I’m not inserting anything into my ass,” said Gladio, crossing his arms. “Definitely nothing from that table.”  
  
There was a clatter and Gladio turned to see Prompto on his hands and knees, scrambling to grab whatever it was he had dropped. A pink flush covered his face, making Gladio laugh.  
  
“C’mon Prompto. I’m sure that you’ve seen your fair share of stuff doing this.”  
  
“Shut up, Gladio,” he muttered, still on his hands and knees.  
  
“No object insertion.” Aranea said it like she was discussing what to eat for dinner. She probably had conversations like this all the time. “We can discuss that another time, but it’s not going to be just your chest on show today. The readers …”  
  
Gladio’s laugh exploded from him. “Readers … I guess they buy Luscious Lucis for the articles.”  
  
Seemingly unamused by his joke, Aranea narrowed her eyes before continuing. “The readers were very keen to explore other parts of your anatomy.”  
  
“Like my ass?”  
  
“Like your cock,” she said. “So we’ll have a few full frontal shots. Preferably with you at least half-hard.”  
  
It was strange and slightly unnerving, thought Gladio, listening to Aranea tell him all this so matter-of-factly and the idea that random men in Insomnia might see his cock. But Gladio wasn’t going to let her think he was uncomfortable at any rate, so he grinned, unsnapped his button and unzipped his jeans.  
  
“Ready when you are. And my cock is fine. No faces.”  
  
Once Prompto got going and got over his embarrassment, he was a pretty good photographer, not that Gladio knew much about it. Prompto was definitely better than his dad who continually bossed him and Iris around only to take the worst photos. Plus he could never make up his mind where he wanted them to stand. They had albums of holiday photos with Iris or him hidden in the shadows or looking bloated. Artistic, his dad had declared once. Rubbish, Gladio had whispered to Iris.  
  
“So sit on the bench, legs apart … uh are you hard? Floppy … uh … you know aren’t very attractive.”  
  
“Yeah,” said Gladio hoping he wasn’t blushing too obviously. “Gimme a moment.”  
  
“Right. Uh, I’m going to go do something over at that corner.” Prompto had been staring at his camera, but suddenly looked up at Gladio. “Do you need help?”  
  
“Fuck no. Don’t touch me.”  
  
“Wha - No, I meant I have some copies of the magazine and …”  
  
“Just go to your corner, Prompto.”  
  
Gladio watched Prompto practically run to the corner, then scanned the warehouse to see where Aranea was. Barely minutes into the shoot, she’d walked out, muttering something about needing a smoke. It appeared she hadn’t returned. His tension eased a little. Damn, this was more difficult than the previous shoot and he was thinking that he’d asked for too little. Still, he’d agreed and Gladio was not one to back out of an agreement, so he took his cock in hand and tried to think of something sexy.  
  
He tried Aranea first. She was definitely sexy with her high heels and tight clothes. He thought of her walking back into the warehouse, her hips swaying the way they always did and catching him palming his cock. But aside from a slight twitch, it was clear his body wasn’t all that interested. Gladio swore under his breath, closed his eyes and went back to the one scenario that never let him down.  
  
Ignis.  
  
Behind his eyelids, Ignis was rushing into the warehouse, possibly after a fight, mainly because Ignis all sweaty and dishevelled, his hair not coiffed, was the way Gladio liked him best. His cheeks were pink and he was breathing heavily, probably about to tell Gladio something until he realised that Gladio was naked on a workbench. A smile tugged at his lips as he thought about just how unlikely this scenario was - he’d never picked up a power tool in his life. Anyway, Ignis would notice Gladio was naked and his eyes would darken with desire. Then, he would walk towards Gladio, at the same time unbuttoning that crisp shirt he always wore, slowly revealing the smooth, pale skin underneath. The shirt hung open, held to his body by those frustrating suspenders while his long fingers slid to his pants.  
  
In his hand, Gladio’s cock stiffened and he let out a breath.  
  
Heels clicked against the concrete floor and Gladio’s eyes opened, even as he squeezed his cock. Aranea barely glanced at him before scanning the warehouse.  
  
“Why the hell is Prompto standing in the corner?”  
  
By the time the shoot ended, Gladio had imagined Ignis in various states of undress,come-hither eyes and low,husky invitations to his bed, all of which were less likely to happen than Noctis ever waking up on time for school. That thought put him in a poor mood, so as relieved as he was when Prompto called an end to the shoot, he quickly pulled on his clothes and made a beeline for his car, wanting to be alone. Guilt tugged at him for not offering Prompto a lift, so he muttered an excuse and left.  
  
Ignis dominated his thoughts in the car, even as he turned up the radio hoping a catchy tune would take his mind off his best friend. He sighed as traffic built up the closer he got to the city center. As his car lingered behind a traffic light, he drummed his fingers on the wheel and stared at the city lights. Unbidden, he thought of Ignis and idly wondered what Ignis would say if he realised the crush Gladio had been harbouring. Probably let him down gently. Gladio shook his head and laughed at his own melancholy. It was good enough that Ignis was comfortable enough with him to let down his guard. Why ask for more? The light turned green and he moved off.


End file.
